Continuation.... THE SUFI'S SPIRITUAL COURSE

Sufism is the Life and Soul of Islam

It is wrongly supposed that Sufism has nothing to do with Islam. In fact, it is the life and soul of Islam. It is really Islam in its higher and practical aspects. It is action and the consequent realisation. It is a process of purification of the soul.

It is not an idle and unproductive philosophy. It is not a set of fresh beliefs in any way different from the teachings of Islam. It is not a series of secretive teachings of any fantastic nature. It is work on proper lines and, as a result of such work and consequent purification of the soul; it is enlightenment and realisation.

With this improved outlook, wider knowledge and better understanding, the Sufi becomes capable of higher flights and better comprehension of Islamic teachings; and his interpretation of Islam is necessarily more to the point. His interpretations are not properly understood by those who lack the proper insight.

It usually happens that the Sufi finds it difficult to express himself in an ordinary language. The language of miscellaneous humanity is not coined to give expression to the higher subjects of Divine purity. He has therefore, to express himself in his own special language which can only be understood by those conversant with proper Sufism and for whom his writings are really meant.

Limitation of language, sometimes compel him to use ordinary human expressions to indicate extraordinary discoveries in the domains of Divinity. For example, in the description of the diagram given before (Figure 1), the following expressions have been used:

"...and, ultimately, you realise that at point B, you are in a comprehensible form from what you were at point A, an incomprehensible formlessness."

This very important part of the explanation of the diagram, is quite capable of misinterpretation and can never be understood correctly by those who are ignorant of the subject and who have not been personally through the suluk.

Since most non-Sufis are not fully conversant with the expressions and language of the Sufis, the Sufistic writings are generally misunderstood and misinterpreted, not only by ordinary people, but by those who are learned in the subjects other than tasawwuf.

On certain points, it is true, the Sufi arrives at results vastly differing from those arrived at by others. Such divergence is due, not to a differing source of information but to his cultivation of better powers of understanding and to the acquirement of greater light and wider horizon.

Sufism is not total renunciation of the world

Sufism has generally been associated with renunciation of the world. In fact it is renunciation, but merely on a limited scale for a limited period, with a particular object in view; and this is what everyone does when he sets before him an object of somewhat difficult attainment.

In that case, he has to devote his time and energy exclusively to the attainment of the object in view. A student has to leave his family and home; has to dissociate himself from interfering friends; has to isolate himself from other attractions; has to travel to a university town; and has to put himself in a boarding house.

He has to lead a simple life and devote himself exclusively to his studies. When he finishes his university course and obtains his degree, he comes back to his home, family and friends and freely mixes with the world. It is the same with the Sufi.

The Sufi's renunciation is not a total renunciation. It is not the renunciation of a Hindu Yogi, a Christian Monk, or Buddhist Lama; it is only a temporary renunciation, with the object of completing his most difficult spiritual course. After finishing his course, there is nothing to prevent him from coming back to the world with his light and culture to serve humanity. Accomplished Sufis do return to the world with a fresh light and it is they who are referred to in the following passages of the Qur'an:

"Shall he who hath been dead (having died the death of ignorance) and whom We have since restored unto life (of knowledge), and unto whom We have ordained a light whereby he moves about in the midst of people, be like him who is immersed in the darkness (of ignorance) and is determined not to come out of that darkness ?" [6:122]

To understand Sufism look at the real Sufis

To form a correct estimate of Sufism, one must look to the real tasawwuf , rather than to miscellaneous set of people pretending to be Sufis. A mere pretension is not guarantee of Sufism. Real Sufis of the best types have lately been few. The many pretenders infesting the various durgahs, khanqahs, and zawiyas, are either mere pretenders, or have gotten stranded in the way.

Sometimes a genuine Sufi gets marooned in one of the intermediate stages in his course. A student of Sufism in an intermediate stage is like a house in the course of construction. Such a house can neither serve the purpose of an open space, nor supply accommodation to any one who wants to live in it. At present, it is of no use. It would be wrong for a student of the comparative study of religions to judge Islam by looking haphazardly at Muslims in streets, public houses, or jails; or to judge Christianity by looking at the daily growing crime in European countries. Similarly, proper Sufism is to be judged by the correct standard only, and not by what the wrong exponents of it declare it to be.

The Muslim Sufi is different from a Western Spiritualist

A closer knowledge of the subject will convince a discriminating observer that a Muslim Sufi is quite a different man from a Western Spiritualist. The Western Spiritualist has no faith to start with, no set of beliefs to guide him, and no fixed goal to direct his steps. His work is experimental throughout.

Bred and brought up in an atmosphere of doubt and distrust, he starts with scepticism and winding his way through a long and circuitous route of doubts, delusions, experiments, surprises, and disappointments, he very often finds himself stranded in the midst of unexplored fields.

He imposes upon himself a double duty. He is his own leader and his own follower. He does not want to be guided by the experience of others. With him, it is not a question of realisation, but of test. He has nothing to realise, because he has no faith to stand by. He has first to find out the truth and then test it.

His initial estrangement from spiritual subjects, makes him an easy prey to foreign influence. Some of the very ancient and antiquated Eastern religions, which have lost their original glamour and primitive glory, possess a novelty for him and attract him easily.

The "Theory" of Reincarnation, the "Philosophy" of Karamma and other similar mutilations of ancient teaching, take possession of him and deviate him from his proper path. His materialistic tendencies clog his footsteps during his spiritual march and beset his progress at every turn.

Development of will, concentration, and other spiritual powers, are readily employed by him to secure some brilliant worldly success. Any valuable information, obtained from a higher source, is willingly utilised for a materialistic end. Higher attainments are ungrudgingly employed to secure lower ends.

Instead of sacrificing the low for the high, he thoughtlessly rushes in the opposite direction and feels no compunction in sacrificing the high for the low; not knowing probably, the extent of damage he is thereby inflicting upon his own talents.

These earthly tendencies keep him earth-bound and, instead of moving on and fast, he finds himself entangled in the meshes of "communion with the dead", where he is very often baffled by the inconsistencies of the results. Having no proper standard of judgment, he cannot draw a correct line of distinction between the spirits belonging to this side of the grave and the spirits belonging to other side of it, and the result is a hopeless confusion.

Table-turning, planchettes, telepathy, tele-'vision', and his similar other achievements only tend to tie him down to earth, instead of helping him to soar into the heavens of spirituality. Spiritualism in the West, has come to have quite a different meaning from the one indicated by the spiritualism of the Sufi.

The Sufi's Journey is based on firm foundations

The Sufi is a different man altogether. He starts with faith. He has certain established beliefs to urge him forward, an established goal to draw him on, and a personal guide to help him in his undertaking. He is in no danger of getting stranded anywhere.

Many have gone the same way before him and many have worked likewise with unanimous results. His predecessors have marked the line of march for him and have left a series of shortcuts for his facility.

He has to create no new theory, to establish no new truth, to formulate no new creed, and to unseal no forbidden knowledge. He does not stand in need of light from any foreign source, does not stand in need of new experiments, and does not require any old truth to be put to a new test.

Everything for him is cut and dried. He has simply to realise, simply to taste the sweets ready in store for him.

He never likes to deviate from the path ordained for him, never sacrifices the high for the low, never seeks to astound the world by his miracles or miraculous powers, and never loses sight of his ultimate Goal. The following words of the Holy Qur'an are ever before him:

"Say: verily, my prayer, and my sacrifice, and my life, and my death, are for Allah, the Lord of the worlds." [6:162]

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